The portion of I-678 north of NY 25A follows the path of the Whitestone Parkway and a short section of the Hutchinson River Parkway's Bronx extension. The Whitestone Parkway and Hutchinson River Parkway was first opened in 1939, while the Van Wyck Expressway opened in pieces between 1950 and 1953. Both highways were connected to each other and upgraded to meet Interstate Highway standards in the early 1960s. The Hutchinson River and Whitestone Expressways were collectively designated as I-678 c. 1965. The designation was extended southward in 1970 to follow the Van Wyck Expressway to its end at JFK Airport.

I-678 begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the borough of Queens. It proceeds along the stretch of highway known as the Van Wyck Expressway. I-678 progresses westward through the airport, crossing under airport taxiways as a six-lane freeway. Just after the taxiways, the expressway connects with North Service Road, which services the airport's western services. From there, the expressway begins to turn northward and crosses the United Airlines hangar. I-678 continues its northwestern path, curving to the northeast at the interchange with Federal Circle. From there, the highway continues northward, becoming a divided highway and meeting NY 878 (the Nassau Expressway) at exit 1E. I-678 continues northward, crossing under the Nassau Expressway and over NY 27 east (South Conduit Avenue) and the Belt Parkway. A short distance later, the highway intersects NY 27 west (North Conduit Avenue) at exit 1B.[4][5]

Continuing northward, the expressway passes the Jamaica Hospital and intersects Jamaica Avenue at exit 6. I-678 expands to eight lanes as it crosses under Hillside Avenue (NY 25B), which is serviced by exit 7 in the southbound direction. A short distance later, the highway approaches a large interchange with NY 25 (Queens Boulevard) and Main Street at exits 8–9. After crossing under Hoover Avenue, I-678 enters the Kew Gardens Interchange, a complex interchange with traffic from five directions. I-678 crosses on overpasses over Union Turnpike, the Grand Central Parkway, the Jackie Robinson Parkway, and different interchange ramps before returning at-grade in Flushing. There, the highway turns northwestward once again, interchanging with Jewel Avenue via Park Drive East at exit 11. Crossing through Flushing Meadows Corona Park, I-678 continues northward until exit 12, where there are ramps to College Point Boulevard and the westbound Long Island Expressway (I-495). After the interchange with the Long Island Expressway, the Van Wyck continues northeastward. A short distance later, the expressway crosses under Roosevelt Avenue and the IRT Flushing Line (7 and <7>​ trains) of New York City Subway. After crossing Roosevelt Avenue, I-678 passes Citi Field to the west, then intersects NY 25A (Northern Boulevard) via exit 13. At this point, I-678 transitions onto Whitestone Expressway.[4][5]

The Whitestone Expressway continues northward into College Point, where the service roads resume. I-678 passes over Linden Place, served by exit 14, and continues northeastward past the distribution center of The New York Times to the west. Shortly afterward, I-678's service roads intersect with 20th Avenue in Whitestone, and there are ramps to and from the service roads at exit 15. I-678 passes under 14th Avenue a short distance to the north. Just after 14th Avenue, the left-hand lanes of both directions diverge to exit 16, which continues onto Cross Island Parkway via a left exit. The service roads end at this point.[4][5]

After the interchange with Cross Island Parkway, the Whitestone Expressway turns to the northwest as a six-lane expressway that passes through Whitestone. After Exit 17, which serves Third Avenue, the expressway passes over Francis Lewis Park and begins its approach onto the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge over the East River. The highway leaves Queens and enters the Bronx along the bridge.[4][5] The bridge descends to ground level and I-678 passes through an open-road toll gantry,[5] which is located at the former site of a tollbooth.[7] Afterwards, the expressway intersects Lafayette Avenue. North of Lafayette Avenue is the Bruckner Interchange, where I-678's designation ends and the highway continues northward as the Hutchinson River Parkway.[4][5]

In 1936, Governor Herbert H. Lehman signed a bill that authorized the construction of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, which would connect Queens and the Bronx.[8] At its north end, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge would connect to Eastern Boulevard (later known as Bruckner Boulevard) via the Hutchinson River Parkway.[9] At its south end, the bridge would connect to a new Whitestone Parkway, which led southwest off the bridge to Northern Boulevard.[9][10] Plans for the bridge were completed by February 1937, at which time the state started issuing bonds to fund bridge construction.[11] The right-of-way for the Whitestone Bridge and Parkway was legally designated in July 1937.[12]

The Whitestone Bridge and Parkway both opened on April 29, 1939.[13] Construction on the bridge and parkway had been accelerated in preparation for the 1939 New York World's Fair,[13] which opened one day after the Whitestone Bridge and Parkway. The new highway was intended as a major thoroughfare to the World's Fair, which was hosted in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, near the Whitestone Parkway's southern end.[14]

I-678 exit 16 in College Point

In December 1957, the state approved a $9.5 million project to widen a 2.1-mile (3.4 km) segment of Whitestone Parkway from Northern Boulevard to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, build a new bridge over the Flushing River, and improve the parkway to Interstate Highway standards using funds from the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1952, in which the federal government would pay 90% of the proposed highway's cost. At the time, the parkway hosted two lanes in each direction, and the design process for such an upgrade was nearing completion.[15] The head of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, Robert Moses, stated that the upgrade could start in 1960. At the time of the announcement, the junction with Northern Boulevard was heavily congested because motorists used local streets to connect to the Grand Central Parkway, located opposite Flushing Meadows Park from the Whitestone Parkway.[16] Flushing Meadows Park was subsequently selected to host the 1964 New York World's Fair. In early 1960, the state announced that work on the project would start that year.[17] The project would be one of three highway upgrades for the World's Fair.[18] The city approved the $10 million upgrade project in May 1960,[19] and contracts for the upgrade were awarded in September 1962.[20] The portion of the Hutchinson River Parkway south of Bruckner Boulevard and all of the Whitestone Parkway were converted to interstate standards. The Whitestone Parkway was subsequently renamed the Whitestone Expressway, and the aforementioned segment of the Hutchinson River Parkway was renamed the Hutchinson River Expressway.[21][22]

In the 1940s, Moses proposed the construction of a system of highways that would traverse the New York City area.[23] The plan was to cost $800 million, and in 1945, the city agreed to pay $60 million of that cost.[24] Among them was the Van Wyck Expressway, which would stretch from New York (now John F. Kennedy) International Airport in the south to Queens Boulevard in the north.[23] The six-lane expressway was to be built along the path of what was then Van Wyck Boulevard.[25] The original street and the freeway were both named after former New York City Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck, but the pronunciation of "Wyck" was heavily disputed: depending on the person, "Wyck" could rhyme with either "lick" or "like".[26]

In 1946, the city started evicting or relocating people who lived in the proposed expressway's right-of-way.[27] Ultimately, 263 households had to be relocated.[28] One 4-story apartment building, which housed 35 families, was placed on metal rollers and relocated away from the expressway's path. Normally, new houses would have been built for these families, but in this case, there was not enough land area to build individual homes for these families.[29]

The section of Van Wyck Expressway between Queens Boulevard and the airport opened in October 1950.[30] A northern extension to Grand Central Parkway was opened in 1953. This section of the expressway originally functioned as a connector between Grand Central and the airport.[31]
In mid-1961, it was revealed that the Van Wyck Expressway would be extended northward to meet the Whitestone Expressway at NY 25A for the 1964 World's Fair.[18] Work on the Van Wyck Expressway Extension, as it was originally known, began in December 1961[32] and was completed by 1963.[22] The I-678 designation was extended southward over the Van Wyck Expressway to JFK Airport on January 1, 1970.[33]

The Whitestone and Hutchinson River Expressways were designated as I-678 c. 1965.[1][2] While designated as a three-digit auxiliary Interstate Highway, I-678 never intersects with its ostensible "parent" interstate, I-78. Originally, I-78 would have continued eastward through New York City from its current terminus at the Holland Tunnel along the proposed Lower Manhattan Expressway and over the Williamsburg Bridge to Queens, where it would have followed the Bushwick Expressway past the southern end of the Van Wyck Expressway to Laurelton. From here, I-78 would have continued northward onto an extended Clearview Expressway and to the Bronx.[34][35] Early plans for I-678 had the highway following the Astoria Expressway, a proposed freeway that would run along the NY 25A corridor from I-278 to the Grand Central Parkway.[34] These plans were mostly canceled by the late 1960s,[36] leading to the truncation of I-78 to the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (I-278) on January 1, 1970.[33] In March 1971, Governor Nelson Rockefeller revealed a plan for improving New York City highways. The plan denied funding to several proposed New York City Interstate Highways, including the Astoria Expressway. Rockefeller said that these highways did not qualify for a funding agreement from the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1952. The New York Times quoted a state official who said that this move had the effect of canceling these projects.[37] I-78 currently ends at the east portal of the Holland Tunnel.[38][39]

In early 1988, both directions of the Whitestone Expressway near Northern Boulevard were temporarily closed because several girders in the southbound viaduct had corroded to the point that a structural failure was imminent.[40] This part of the Whitestone Expressway, as well as the Van Wyck Expressway from Fowler Avenue south to the Long Island Expressway, were renovated in the mid-1990s.[41] Starting in 2003, the northbound lanes of the Whitestone Expressway near Northern Boulevard were renovated. The project involved replacing a bascule bridge that had been at the location since the original parkway had opened in 1939; creating two U-turn ramps; and creating a new exit ramp from eastbound Northern Boulevard to Linden Place. Previously, traffic from Northern Boulevard had to cross over three lanes of northbound traffic from the Van Wyck Expressway.[42][43]

Bronx-Whitestone Bridge approach replacement

The Jamaica Branch of the AirTrain JFKpeople mover system was built within the median of the Van Wyck from Atlantic Avenue to the Belt Parkway. Construction started in May 1998.[44][45]:22 The fact that the Jamaica branch had to be built in the middle of the Van Wyck Expressway, combined with the varying length and curves of the track spans, caused complications during construction. One lane in each direction was closed during the off-peak hours, causing congestion on the Van Wyck.[45]:22 The AirTrain's guideways above the Van Wyck were completed in August 2001.[46] The system opened in December 2003.[47]

Further to the north, a $286 million renovation of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge started in August 2001.[48][49] The project replaced the bridge's span, among other things.[50] The Queens and Bronx approaches were replaced in a project that started in 2008[51] and ended in 2015.[52]

In early 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that as part of his plan to improve JFK Airport, two traffic bottlenecks along I-678 near the airport would be removed. At the Kew Gardens Interchange, the two-lane ramps between the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway would be upgraded to three lanes in each direction. South of the interchange, the expressway will be expanded from three lanes to four lanes in each direction, with the new lanes being used as either HOV lanes or bus lanes. These projects, combined, would cost $1.5–2 billion.[53][54]
In October 2018, Cuomo released details of his $13 billion plan to rebuild passenger facilities and approaches to JFK Airport. The plan included widened ramps in Kew Gardens and a fourth vehicle lane on the Van Wyck Expressway south of Kew Gardens.[55][56] If the proposal is approved, construction on the new airport facilities is expected to begin in 2020.[57][58]

^New York State Department of Commerce; Rand McNally and Company (1969). New York State Highways (Map). 1:868,032. Albany: State of New York Department of Commerce. Metropolitan New York City inset. OCLC1009635438.

1.
John F. Kennedy International Airport
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John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport located near South Ozone Park in the borough of Queens in New York City, United States,12 miles southeast of Lower Manhattan. Over ninety airlines operate out of the airport, with non-stop or direct flights to destinations in all six inhabited continents, the airport features six passenger terminals and four runways. It serves as a hub for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines and is the operating base for JetBlue Airways. In the past, JFK served as a hub for Eastern, National, Pan Am, John F. Kennedy International Airport was originally Idlewild Airport after the Idlewild Beach Golf Course that it displaced. It was built to relieve LaGuardia Airport, which was overcrowded soon after opening in 1939. Construction began in 1943, and about $60 million was spent of governmental funding. In March 1948 the New York City Council changed the name to New York International Airport, Anderson Field, the Port Authority leased the JFK property from the City of New York in 1947 and maintains this lease today. The first airline flight from JFK was on July 1,1948, the Port Authority cancelled foreign airlines permits to use LaGuardia, forcing them to move to JFK during the next couple of years. JFK opened with six runways and a seventh under construction, runways 1L and 7L were held in reserve and never came into use as runways. Runway 31R is still in use, runway 31L opened soon after the rest of the airport and is still in use, runway 1R closed in 1957, runway 4 opened June 1949 and runway 4R was added ten years later. A smaller runway 14/32 was built after runway 7R closed and was used through 1990 by general aviation, STOL and smaller commuter flights. The Avro Jetliner was the first jetliner to land at JFK on April 18,1950, later in 1957 the USSR sought approval for two Tupolev Tu-104 flights carrying diplomats to JFK, the Port Authority did not allow them, saying noise tests had to be done first. The airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 24,1963, then-mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. proposed the renaming. The Port of New York Authority originally planned a single 55-gate terminal, architect Wallace Harrison then designed a master plan under which each major airline at the airport would be given its own space to develop its own terminal design. This scheme made construction more practical, made terminals more navigable, the revised plan met airline approval in 1955, with seven terminals initially planned—five for individual airlines, one developed for 3 airlines and an international arrivals building. The International Arrivals Building, or IAB, was the first new terminal at the airport, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and opening in December 1957. Stretching nearly 700 meters parallel to runway 7R where Terminal 4 is now, it had finger piers at right-angles to the building allowing more aircraft to park. United Airlines opened Terminal 7, a Skidmore design similar to the IAB, Eastern Airlines opened its Chester L. Churchill-designed Terminal 1 a month later, it was demolished in 1995

2.
Ozone Park, Queens
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Ozone Park is a urban neighborhood located in the southwestern section of the borough of Queens, in New York City, New York, United States. It borders Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Howard Beach, and City Line, different parts of the neighborhood are covered by Queens Community Board 9 and 10. The neighborhood is located in the Sixth congressional district, and is represented by Democrat Gregory Meeks, the northern border is Atlantic Avenue, the southern border is South Conduit Avenue, and the eastern border is 108th Street. The western border is the county line with Brooklyn and it is the home of the Aqueduct Racetrack, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing. The neighborhood is known for its large Italian-American population, the current ground level of Ozone Park is about four feet higher than the original ground level. Initially the avenues and cross streets were raised above ground level and then all of the basements were set on ground level and the land was back filled around the houses. The older houses that were at the ground level now appear sunken. An area now part of Ozone Park that pre-dated that community was called Centreville and it was founded in the 1840s and was centered around Centreville Street and the Centreville Community Church. Part of Ozone Park is still called Centreville and it was completed for Christmas 1958. The old church and the property that surrounded it were sold to Aqueduct Racetrack, the lot is still vacant as of 2013. During the 1870s, a depression caused residents of New York City to look for better housing opportunities in the suburbs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Two partners, Benjamin W. Hitchcock and Charles C, denton, first began carving farmland into building lots. They were able to do this because of their wealth and substantial capital, housing was first developed in the area after the Long Island Rail Road began service through the area in 1880 as part of its route from Long Island City to Howard Beach. Ozone Park was created and settled in 1882, before the turn of the 20th century, there was an attempt to develop up to nine neighborhoods with the park title. Ozone Park was the one of these neighborhoods that continues to exist. The name persisted because of the commuters who passed through the Ozone Park station. The final improvement to the transit system was the Fulton Street Elevated train line at Liberty Avenue in 1914. In addition to this railroad came the nickel fare, which was another major factor in the development of Ozone Park

3.
Interstate 495 (New York)
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Interstate 495 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway on Long Island in New York in the United States. The route extends for 71 miles from the portal of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel in the New York City borough of Manhattan to County Route 58 in Riverhead. I-495 does not intersect its parent route, I-95, however, it does connect to I-95 through I-295, which it meets in Queens. The portion of I-495 in Nassau and Suffolk counties is known as the Long Island Expressway, there is a gap in designation between I-278 and I-678, where the segment in between is designated as New York State Route 495. The expressway begins at the portal of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The route heads eastward, passing under FDR Drive and the East River as it proceeds through the Triborough Bridge, once on Long Island, the highway passes through a toll booth and becomes known as the Queens–Midtown Expressway as it travels through the western portion of the borough. A mile after entering Queens, I-495 meets I-278 at exit 17, at this point, I-495 becomes NY495. It continues on an easterly path to the Rego Park neighborhood. The expressway continues east, veering to the southeast to bypass Kissena Park before curving back to the northeast to meet the Clearview Expressway at the edge of Cunningham Park. Past I-295, I-495 passes by the Queens Giant, the oldest and tallest tree in the New York metropolitan area, the tree, located just north of I-495 in Alley Pond Park, is visible from the highways westbound lanes. To the east, the connects to the Cross Island Parkway at exit 31 in the park prior to crossing into Nassau County. Although the name officially begins here, almost all locals and most signage use the Long Island Expressway or the LIE to refer the entire length of I-495. It is common to refer to the roads by these names—particularly Horace Harding—in local usage. The names may have intended to refer to sections of the expressway proper. Harding used his influence to promote the development of Long Islands roadways, Harding also urged construction of a highway from Queens Boulevard to the Nassau County Line, in order to provide better access to Oakland Country Club, where he was a member. After his death, the boulevard he helped build was named for him, Horace Harding was not related to the former President Warren G. Harding. In 1968, a line along the Long Island Expressway was proposed. Heading into Nassau County, the expressway sports a High-Occupancy Vehicle Lane, the two highways meet three times, although it actually crosses only once at exit 46 near the county line

4.
Whitestone, Queens
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Whitestone is an upper middle-class residential neighborhood in the northernmost part of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood proper is located between the East River to the north and 25th Avenue to the south, Whitestone is surrounded by College Point, Flushing, Bayside, Auburndale, Linden Hill, and Murray Hill. Whitestone contains the subsection of Malba, which is bounded to the north by the East River, to the east by the Whitestone Expressway, to the south by 14th Avenue, Malba was cited in a New York Times article as one of the few elite enclaves of Queens. Dutch settlers derived the name of the town from limestone that used to lie on the shore of the according to a popular tradition. Whitestone got its name because the settlers discovered that Whitestone was built on white limestone, the neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPDs 109th Precinct, and is part of Queens Community Board 7. It is traditionally bounded by the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge on the west, the zip code of Whitestone is 11357. The area was, in part, the estate of Francis Lewis, a delegate to the Continental Congress. The estate was the site of an English raid during the Revolutionary War, Lewis was not present but his wife was taken prisoner and his house was burned to the ground. In the late 19th century, many wealthy New Yorkers began building mansions in the area, rapid development of the area ensued in the 1920s, however, as trolley and Long Island Rail Road train service on the Whitestone Branch was expanded into the neighborhood. Flushing Airport has been abandoned since 1985, further development came with the building of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge in 1939. The bridge measures 2,300 feet and was the fourth longest bridge in the world at the time of its construction. The name of the subsection of Malba in northern Whitestone is derived from the first letters of the surnames of its five founders of the Malba Land Company, Maycock, Alling, Lewis, Bishop, and Avis. Malba is considered part of Whitestone, one of the affluent communities in Queens. Demographically, the population is white and of European descent. Most of the properties in Malba are large homes. The first known resident of the known as present-day Malba was David Roe. According to Clarence Almon Torreys book, David Roe Of Flushing And Some Of His Descendants, in 1683, Roe was taxed upon owning 35 acres and thereafter increased his holdings substantially, ultimately acquiring the upland around what was to become Malba. Roes farm was on the east side of the bay, which was known as Roes Cove

5.
Interstate 278
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Interstate 278 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs 35.62 miles from U. S. Route 1/9 in Linden, I-278 also crosses multiple bridges, including the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the Kosciuszko Bridge and the Triborough Bridge. Despite its number, I-278 does not connect to I-78, there were once plans to extend I-278 west to I-78 east of the Route 24 interchange in Springfield, New Jersey. This was cancelled due to opposition from the communities along the route, the segment that does exist in New Jersey was opened in 1969. In New York, the parts of I-278 were planned by Robert Moses. Some of these completed segments predated the Interstate Highway System and are not up to standards. Over the years, portions of I-278 have required upgrading, in addition, they tore through many New York City neighborhoods, causing controversy. All of I-278 through New York City was completed by the 1960s, I-87 was once planned to follow the segment of I-278 between the Williamsburg Bridge and the Major Deegan Expressway, but this ultimately became a part of I-278. In addition, the Bruckner Expressway portion of I-278 had been designated with different route numbers, at first, it was to be I-895 between I-87 and the Sheridan Expressway and I-678 past there. Later, I-278 was planned to follow the Bruckner Expressway and the Sheridan Expressway to I-95 before the current numbering took place by 1970, with I-895 designated onto the Sheridan Expressway. The New Jersey segment of I-278 begins in Linden, Union County at the junction with US1 and US9, the freeway heads east and carries two lanes in each direction, with the eastbound direction widening to three lanes. I-278 runs between residential areas to the north and the Bayway Refinery to the south as it continues into Elizabeth. In this area, the road meets Route 439 and the New Jersey Turnpike at the intermediate interchange that I-278 has in New Jersey. This short length is called the Union Freeway. After the New Jersey Turnpike, I-278 turns southeast and crosses the Arthur Kill on the four-lane Goethals Bridge to Staten Island and this bridge is maintained by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Upon coming onto Staten Island, I-278 becomes the Staten Island Expressway, after the Goethals Bridge, the highway has a toll plaza serving the bridge. NY440 forms a concurrency with I-278 and the heads into residential neighborhoods. The road carries four eastbound and three lanes westbound as it comes to the exit serving Richmond Avenue

6.
The Bronx
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The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, within the U. S. state of New York. Since 1914, the Bronx has had the boundaries as Bronx County, a county of New York. The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a section in the west, closer to Manhattan. East and west street addresses are divided by Jerome Avenue—the continuation of Manhattans Fifth Avenue, the West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County in 1914, about a quarter of the Bronxs area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the boroughs north and center. These open spaces are situated primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north. The name Bronx originated with Jonas Bronck, who established the first settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639, the native Lenape were displaced after 1643 by settlers. This cultural mix has made the Bronx a wellspring of both Latin music and hip hop. The Bronx, particularly the South Bronx, saw a decline in population, livable housing, and the quality of life in the late 1960s. Since then the communities have shown significant redevelopment starting in the late 1980s before picking up pace from the 1990s until today, the Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape, while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck. It was divided by the Aquahung River, the origin of Jonas Bronck is contested. Some sources claim he was a Swedish born emigrant from Komstad, Norra Ljunga parish in Småland, Sweden, who arrived in New Netherland during the spring of 1639. Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the now known as the Bronx and built a farm named Emmanus close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue. He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of the mainland north of the Dutch settlement in Harlem. He eventually accumulated 500 acres between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which known as Broncks River or the Bronx. Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Broncks Land, the American poet William Bronk was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Broncks son or his younger brother. More recent research indicates that Pieter was probably Jonas nephew or cousin, the Bronx is referred to with the definite article as The Bronx, both legally and colloquially. The region was named after the Bronx River and first appeared in the Annexed District of The Bronx created in 1874 out of part of Westchester County

7.
Interstate Highway System
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The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways is a network of controlled-access highways that forms a part of the National Highway System of the United States. The system is named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who championed its formation, construction was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and the original portion was completed 35 years later, although some urban routes were cancelled and never built. The network has since been extended and, as of 2013, as of 2013, about one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country use the Interstate system. In 2006, the cost of construction was estimated at about $425 billion, the nations revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50, 000-mile system, the system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $25,000 per mile, providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 and this new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $75 million allocated annually. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. A boom in construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s. As automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such a national system to supplement the existing, largely non-freeway. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways, in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald, chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. He recognized that the system would also provide key ground transport routes for military supplies. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways, informally known as the Yellow Book, assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson, who was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953. The Interstate Highway System was authorized on June 29,1956 by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate, three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that the first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2,1956, the first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44. On August 13,1956, Missouri awarded the first contract based on new Interstate Highway funding, kansas claims that it was the first to start paving after the act was signed. Preliminary construction had taken place before the act was signed, the state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could also be considered one of the first Interstate Highways, on October 1,1940,162 miles of the highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes, October 12,1979, The final section of the Canada to Mexico freeway Interstate 5 is dedicated near Stockton, California

8.
Boroughs of New York City
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New York City, in the U. S. state of New York, is composed of five county-level administrative entities called boroughs. They are Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, each borough is coextensive with a county of New York State. The county governments were dissolved when New York City consolidated in 1898, along all city, town. The term borough was adopted to describe a form of administration for each of the five fundamental constituent parts of the newly consolidated city in 1898. Under the 1898 City Charter adopted by the New York State Legislature, the term is also used by politicians to counter a frequent focus on Manhattan and thereby to place all five boroughs on equal footing. In the same vein, the outer boroughs refers to all of the boroughs excluding Manhattan. All of the boroughs were created in 1898 during consolidation, when the current boundaries were established. Ultimately in 1914, the present-day separate Bronx County became the last county to be created in the State of New York, the borough of Queens consists of what formerly was only the western part of a then-larger Queens County. The borough of Staten Island was officially the borough of Richmond until the name was changed in 1975 to reflect its common appellation, there are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City, many with a definable history and character to call their own. Manhattan is the geographically smallest and most densely populated borough and is home to Central Park and most of the citys skyscrapers. Manhattans population density of 72,033 people per mile in 2015 makes it the highest of any county in the United States. Manhattan is often described as the financial and cultural center of the world, most of the borough is situated on Manhattan Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River. Manhattan Island is loosely divided into Lower, Midtown, and Uptown regions, Uptown Manhattan is divided by Central Park into the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, and above the park is Harlem. The borough also includes a neighborhood on the United States mainland. New York Citys remaining four boroughs are collectively referred to as the outer boroughs, Brooklyn, on the western tip of Long Island, is the citys most populous borough. Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social, and ethnic diversity, an independent art scene, distinct neighborhoods, downtown Brooklyn is the only central core neighborhood in the outer boroughs. The borough has a long beachfront shoreline including Coney Island, established in the 1870s as one of the earliest amusement grounds in the country, marine Park and Prospect Park are the two largest parks in Brooklyn. Historically a collection of towns and villages founded by the Dutch

9.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange

10.
Jamaica Bay
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Jamaica Bay is located on the southern side of Long Island, in the U. S. state of New York, near the islands western end. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west through Rockaway Inlet and is the westernmost of the lagoons on the south shore of Long Island. Politically, it is divided between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, with a small part touching Nassau County, the bay contains numerous marshy islands. It was known as Grassy Bay as late as the 1940s, the y sound in English is spelled with a j in Dutch, the first Europeans to write about the area. This resulted in the eventual English pronunciation of Jamaica when read, the location of Jamaica Bay combined with the rich food resources found there make it a regionally important fish, wildlife, and plant habitat complex. This geographic location acts to concentrate marine and estuarine species migrating between the New York Bight portion of the North Atlantic, and the Hudson River and Raritan River estuary. Shorebirds, raptors, waterfowl, land birds, and various migratory insects are concentrated by the coastlines in both directions and these migratory species are further concentrated by the surrounding urban development into the remaining open space and open water of Jamaica Bay. Jamaica Bay and nearby Breezy Point support seasonal or year-round populations of over 330 species of special emphasis and listed species, incorporating 48 species of fish and 120 species of birds. Jamaica Bay is a saline to brackish, eutrophic estuary covering about 25,000 acres, with a depth of 13 feet, a semidiurnal tidal range averaging 4.9 ft. The bay itself has been disturbed by dredging, filling, and development, including the construction of John F. Kennedy International Airport and, earlier, the historic Floyd Bennett Field. About 49 square kilometres of the original 65 square kilometres of wetlands in the bay have been filled in, extensive areas of the bay have been dredged for navigation channels and to provide fill for the airports and other construction projects. The center of the bay is dominated by open water and extensive low-lying islands with areas of salt marsh, intertidal flats. The average mean low tide exposes 350 acres of mudflat,940 acres of low salt marsh dominated by low marsh cordgrass, the extensive intertidal areas are rich in food resources, including a variety of benthic invertebrates and macroalgae dominated by sea lettuce. These rich food resources attract a variety of fish, shorebirds, species introduced in the refuge to attract wildlife include autumn olive, Japanese black pine, and Japanese barberry. The salt marshes of Jamaica Bay offer prime habitat for migratory birds, most of the waters and marshes have been protected since 1972 as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The marshlands are also fast diminishing, as of Spring 2003, marshland is being lost at the rate of approximately 40 acres per year. The reasons for loss are still unclear, but one hypothesis is that the loss is the result of rising sea levels. To test this, in the hope of preventing further losses, opponents are concerned that the dredging may be harmful, perhaps leading to greater loss of marshland than the area saved

11.
East River
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The East River is a salt water tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name. It separates the borough of Queens on Long Island from the Bronx on the North American mainland, and also divides Manhattan from Queens and Brooklyn, because of its connection to Long Island Sound, it was once also known as the Sound River. The tidal strait changes its direction of flow frequently, and is subject to fluctuations in its current. The waterway is navigable for its length of 16 miles. Technically a drowned valley, like the other waterways around New York City, the distinct change in the shape of the strait between the lower and upper portions is evidence of this glacial activity. The upper portion, running perpendicular to the glacial motion, is wide, meandering. The lower portion runs north-south, parallel to the glacial motion and it is much narrower, with straight banks. The bays that exist, as well as those used to exist before being filled in by human activity, are largely wide. The stretch has since been cleared of rocks and widened, washington Irving wrote of Hell Gate that the current sounded like a bull bellowing for more drink at half tide, whilte at full tide it slept as soundly as an alderman after dinner. He said it was like a peaceable fellow enough when he has no liquor at all, or when he has a skinful, but who, the river is navigable for its entire length of 16 miles. Why the river turns to the east as it approaches the three lower Manhattan bridges is currently geologically unknown, in the stretch of the river between Manhattan Island and the borough of Queens, lies Roosevelt Island, a narrow 2-mile long island consisting of 147 acres. Politically part of Manhattan, it begins at around the level of East 46th Street of that borough and it is connected to Queens by the Roosevelt Island Bridge, to Manhattan by the Roosevelt Island Tramway, and to both by a subway station. The Queensboro Bridge runs across Roosevelt Island, but no longer has an elevator connection to it. The abrupt termination of the island on its end is due to an extension of the 125th Street Fault. The Bronx River drains into the East River in the section of the strait. North of Randalls Island, it is joined by the Bronx Kill. Along the east of Wards Island, at approximately the midpoint, it narrows into a channel called Hell Gate